United Continental and Delta are among suitors considering bids for Avianca Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter, as airlines around the world seek combinations to help them withstand fierce competition and bulk up internationally. Advisers to Avianca have distributed a document to potential bidders seeking a $500m capital injection, one of the people said, adding that could develop into a full sale. The process is in early stages, the people said, and there may be no deal at all. Avianca, one of the largest airline companies in Latin America, is based in Panama and owns carriers including its Colombian namesake and Tampa Cargo in that country, and AeroGal in Ecuador. Avianca went public in 2011 and has a market value equal to roughly $600m. Should there be a deal for Avianca, it would be the latest in a recent string of airline tie-ups. The pace of consolidation in the industry has quickened in recent years, particularly in Europe, the US and Latin America, as carriers seek to bulk up and broaden their scope amid stiff competition. In the US alone, eight airlines have merged into four since 2008 and those four control more than 80% of domestic capacity. In Latin America, there also have been some big mergers, including the 2012 joining of Chile’s Lan and Brazil’s Tam—in addition to the marriage of Avianca and Taca.<br/>
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United is now flying the longest flight operated by any US airline and the longest in the world to be flown on a Boeing 787 “Dreamliner.” United took those titles Wednesday evening as it launched nonstop service to Singapore from its hub in San Francisco. The 8,446-mile flight – the first-ever regularly scheduled service to connect those cities nonstop – is the third-longest flight by distance of any carrier in the world, according to airline data provider OAG. United Flight 1 – the westbound flight from San Francisco to Singapore – has a scheduled flying time of 16 hours, 20 minutes. The return – United Flight 2 – is scheduled for 15 hours, 30 minutes. “This is a special time for all of us at United,” Jim Compton – United’s chief revenue officer – said during a gateside ceremony for the inaugural S.F.-Singapore flight. “By using this flight, our customers are going to save up to four hours compared to connecting options on other airlines.”<br/>
United CEO Oscar Munoz knows that his airline has alienated some of its most loyal fliers. His effort to win them back starts with a new business class product that he personally unveiled Thursday at his first major public appearance since becoming CEO. "It is about the entire experience," Munoz said. "It's not just a new seat. It's not just new meals. It's not just better wines." Business travellers, who may pay $5,000 for a trans-Atlantic flight, want seats that are comfortable to work, eat and sleep in. They want direct access to the aisle, particularly on overnight flights where nobody wants to have to crawl over a sleeping passenger to use the bathroom. So, United is giving its business class seats their first upgrade in a decade — and removing middle seats from those planes still have them in the premium cabin. Passengers will also get do not disturb signs and more storage space. There will be dedicated lounges in key airports just for business class fliers. It's all part of a new service called Polaris. Munoz says the product represents "the new spirt of United" and is part of "winning back the trust of our customers." He acknowledges more work needs to be done. "Airline travel has become like going to the dentist," he told the crowd gathered in a Manhattan event space for the unveiling. The goal is to improve it from "lounge to landing." Seth Kaplan, managing partner of industry newsletter Airline Weekly, says the new seats will let United match business-class offerings from American Airlines and Delta. But Munoz knows that updating the physical product isn't enough. That's why flight attendants are getting a new level of training for international flights, which he says will filter down to the domestic trips some also take.<br/>
United Continental Thursday said it would makeover the business-class cabins on its international widebody planes and its elite airport lounges, its first major product upgrade in more than a decade. Called “United Polaris,” the new long-haul business class will debut in December on a freshly delivered Boeing Co. 777-300ER plane. It will subsequently be rolled out on other new aircraft on order, including more 777-300ERs, Boeing 787-10s and Airbus Group SE A350-1000s. United also said it would retrofit at least 100 double-aisle aircraft it already has in its fleet. The move will spell the end of the three-cabin layouts that still fly on some older planes. United said it would outfit its fleet with a custom-designed seat that will be exclusive to the company. The forward-facing pods will offer direct access to the aisle, recline to a fully flat setting and provide 6-foot, six-inches of bed space. Bedding will be designed by Saks Fifth Avenue and gel-cooled pillows will be available on request. United plans to show off its new products at an event Thursday morning in Manhattan. The first United Polaris Lounge will open in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport late this year. Fliers will be offered a full buffet and preflight dining menu, shower facilities and secluded areas with daybeds. Five other US hubs and airports in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong will get the lounges in 2017.<br/>
Lufthansa should consider teaming up with one of the Gulf airlines rather than bashing them with regulators, following the example of British Airways’ parent company and Qatar Airways, a German government official said. “Walling off the market won’t help, and the Gulf carriers have a geostrategic advantage due to their location,” Brigitte Zypries, the Economy Ministry state secretary who coordinates Germany’s aviation and aerospace policy, said Tuesday. “One should think about other possibilities.” Zypries became the first senior German lawmaker to publicly suggest that Lufthansa may be better off becoming a partner with a Gulf airline than fighting expansion by competitors from the region. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said there’s no level playing field among carriers from Gulf countries and Europe, while US airlines last year claimed the Gulf trio of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways benefits from more than $40b in subsidies from government owners. Lufthansa’s stance runs counter to those of London-based International Consolidated Airlines, the owner of British Airways and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling, and Air Berlin. IAG has brought in Qatar Airways as its biggest investor as well as a partner in the Oneworld global airline alliance. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has become Air Berlin’s largest shareholder amid efforts to bail out the unprofitable German company. Turkish Airlines is Lufthansa’s main Middle Eastern partner. They’re both members of the Star Alliance airline grouping, and together own the leisure carrier SunExpress. Harry Hohmeister, the head of Lufthansa’s mainline brands, said last month that he’d prefer to develop that relationship further rather than link up with Dubai-based Emirates, which doesn’t have a European partner.<br/>
Turkish Airlines’ CE expects his country’s tourism sector to rebound this summer and continue to strengthen through the rest of 2016. Foreign visitors to Turkey have fallen for nine consecutive months through April, according to government data, as terror attacks by Daesh and Kurdish militants wreak havoc on its $32b tourism sector. Turkey will start to see more visitors from July and August when the “real summer” starts, Turkish Airlines chief executive Temel Kotil told Gulf News in Dublin late on Wednesday on the eve of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meet in the Irish capital. May through to August is Turkey’s peak tourism season when many Europeans head to the country’s southern beaches. Turkish Airlines reported a 1.24b liras ($421m) Q1 net loss in May in what was the partially state-owned carrier’s worst quarter performance since at least 1999. The airline blamed the loss on a nearly 3% drop in the number of seats filled and a fall in revenues as it sold airfares for less though carried 10% more passengers. Kotil expects Turkish Airlines will sell fares for “around” 2-3% less this year than in it did in 2015 as the weak Turkish market puts pressure on margins. The airline is targeting to carry 72m passengers. “By the end of the year we will have a good profit,” Kotil said.<br/>